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Job market grows 10% in hiring — foundit

Commuters wait for public transportation along Ortigas Extension in Cainta, Rizal, Sept. 14, 2022. — PHILIPPINE STAR/ WALTER BOLLOZOS

By Miguel Hanz L. Antivola, Reporter

The job market saw a 10% jump in annual hiring activity fueled by regional holiday spending and a high demand for goods and services, according to a report.

The insights tracker of talent platform foundit showed the employment index of the Philippines reach 128 in December, up from 116 in the same period in 2022.

“The final quarter marked the economy’s best performance in the year 2023,” Sekhar Garisa, chief executive officer of foundit, said in an emailed press statement on Monday.

“We have stepped into 2024 by showcasing remarkable growth and resilience across sectors,” he added.

Preliminary results of the Philippine Statistics Authority’s Labor Force Survey showed the unemployment rate fell to 3.6% in November from 4.2% in the previous month and in November 2022.  

This was the lowest record since the PSA revised the definition of “unemployed” in April 2005 to refer to people aged 15 years and older without a job and are available for work and actively seeking one.

For the first 11 months of 2023, the unemployment rate stood at 4.5%, well below the 5.3%-6.4% target under the Philippine Development Plan.

The employment rate — the share of the employed Filipinos to the total working force — rose to 96.4% in November from 95.8% in October and November 2022.

According to foundit, the retail sector recorded the largest increase in hiring activity demand with 60%, followed by education (49%), business process outsourcing and IT-enabled services (11%), and healthcare (11%).

Positive growth trends were also seen in engineering, construction, and real estate (9%), logistics (7%), advertising, media, public relations, and entertainment (6%), and hospitality (4%).

foundit noted holiday demand and government-led upskilling initiatives and apprenticeship programs as drivers for job market growth.

However, it added the skills gap, global competition, and scattered demand for logistics as challenges for the market.

foundit said these caused a downturn for IT and telecommunications (18%), fast-moving consumer goods and packaged food (14%), banking, financial services, and insurance (4%), and production or manufacturing and automotive and ancillary industries (1%).

Among functions, customer service professions had the highest increase in hiring with 26%, followed by human resources and admin (18%), marketing and communications (17%), and logistics and supply chain (15%).

Other functions that have seen growth included software, hardware, and telco (6%), sales and business development (4%), engineering, production, and real estate (4%), and hospitality and travel (3%).

Additionally, finance and accounts professionals posted a 1% decrease, while healthcare roles maintained its activity.

Mr. Garisa underscored the need to reimagine recruitment approaches given the dynamic job market.

“[Artificial intelligence] is now a global reality, and the local workforce needs to enhance its core competence,” he said.

“With the support and initiatives from the Filipino government and private sectors, issues concerning the ease of doing business, power, and upskilling would be addressed,” he added.

War rages as Gaza toll said to have passed 25,000

EMAD EL-BYED-UNSPLASH

DOHA/GAZA — Israeli attacks and street battles raged across the Gaza Strip on Sunday as Palestinian health officials said the death toll from Israeli strikes since war broke out in October had passed 25,000.

Gaza’s Health Ministry said 178 Palestinians had been killed in the past 24 hours, one of the deadliest days of the war so far. Israel’s military said a soldier was killed in fighting.

Israeli forces and Hamas fighters clashed in several places, from Jabalia in the north to Khan Younis in the south, the focus of recent Israeli operations.

Israeli planes resumed heavy bombing on Khan Younis in the south of the Gaza Strip and explosions echoed throughout the city.

Explosions lit the skies in parts of the Khan Younis refugee camp, and Palestinian health officials said one Palestinian was killed and seven wounded in one air strike as night fell.

Israel said its troops had cleared much of northern Gaza of Hamas’ military network and more than 1 million residents of that enclave have moved south to flee the bombardments. Fighting, however, has continued in the Jabalia refugee camp and other areas around Gaza City.

Israel unleashed its campaign to eliminate Iran-backed Hamas after the militants burst into Israel on Oct. 7 and rampaged through southern towns and bases, killing 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and taking 253 hostages back to Gaza. Israel says it is fighting a threat to its very existence.

The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry said 25,105 Palestinians — many of them women and children — had been killed and 62,681 have been wounded in Israeli strikes since Oct. 7. It does not differentiate between civilian and militant deaths, but says most of those killed have been civilians.

United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Sunday denounced Israel for what he called the “heartbreaking” deaths of Palestinian civilians in Gaza.

“Israel’s military operations have spread mass destruction and killed civilians on a scale unprecedented during my time as secretary-general,” he said.

Israel says it takes steps to avoid civilian casualties but accuses Hamas of operating in densely populated areas and using civilians as human shields, a charge the Islamist group denies.

Mr. Guterres also said it was unacceptable for Israel to resist statehood for Palestinians and such a stance would indefinitely prolong the conflict.

HAMAS CONDITIONS REJECTED
His comments followed remarks by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that appeared to rule out the so-called two-state solution to the decades-long Israel-Palestinian conflict — as urged by the US and other governments.

Mr. Netanyahu’s office said that in talks with US President Joseph R. Biden on Friday, he “reiterated his policy that after Hamas is destroyed Israel must retain security control over Gaza to ensure that Gaza will no longer pose a threat to Israel, a requirement that contradicts the demand for Palestinian sovereignty.”

On Sunday, Mr. Netanyahu rejected conditions presented by Hamas to end the war and release hostages that would include Israel’s complete withdrawal and leaving Hamas — an Islamist group dedicated to Israel’s destruction — in power in Gaza.

On Monday, the Israeli and Palestinian foreign ministers were to meet their European Union (EU) counterparts in Brussels as the EU considers potential steps toward a comprehensive peace.

Hamas said Washington was ignoring Palestinian suffering and deaths while supporting Israeli actions financially and militarily. Hamas called its Oct. 7 assault a “necessary step.”

“It was a defensive act in the frame of getting rid of the Israeli occupation, reclaiming the Palestinian rights and on the way for liberation and independence,” it said in a statement.

The Oct. 7 attacks, in which many women and children were murdered and bodies mutilated, drew worldwide revulsion and condemnation.

Most of the Gaza Strip’s 2.3 million people have since been displaced from their homes. With large areas razed to the ground and hospitals and humanitarian agencies struggling to cope, Palestinians described dire conditions.

“We struggle to survive bombs, but frankly we try to survive hunger more,” Amer, a 32-year-old father of three from northern Gaza, told Reuters. “Finding food for the family, for the children, has become a more challenging adventure than surviving war.”

Israel’s military said soldiers had killed 15 Palestinian gunmen in the north while snipers, backed by air support, had killed a number of militants in Khan Younis. Hamas dismissed this account.

Palestinians said fighting has raged in Jabalia for the past three days. Some buildings caught fire and smoke rose where bombs had fallen.

Along Gaza’s southern coast, witnesses said Israeli warships shelled the beach.

In the southern city of Rafah, where more than 1 million displaced people are concentrated, three Palestinians were killed in an Israeli air strike on a car. Another car was hit in Gaza City, killing three people, health officials said.

Violence has also surged in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, where Hamas’ rival, the Palestinian Authority, has limited self-rule. The Palestinian Health Ministry there said Israeli forces have killed 360 Palestinians since Oct. 7. — Reuters

DeSantis ends 2024 run, endorses Trump as New Hampshire vote looms

SEABROOK, New Hampshire — Florida Governor Ron DeSantis ended his fading presidential campaign on Sunday and endorsed Donald Trump just two days before the pivotal New Hampshire primary, leaving former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley as Trump’s last long-shot challenger for the Republican nomination.

Mr. DeSantis’ decision, less than a week after his deflating loss to Mr. Trump in Iowa despite an enormous investment there, caps a stunning fall from grace after Mr. DeSantis had been widely seen as Republicans’ most promising alternative to Mr. Trump ahead of the general election in November.

His departure sets up the one-on-one battle that Ms. Haley has coveted against Mr. Trump, the former president who has maintained an iron grip on the Republican electorate despite facing four criminal prosecutions. Mr. Trump has pleaded not guilty in all the cases.

But Mr. DeSantis’ supporters appear more likely to switch allegiance to Mr. Trump than to the more moderate Ms. Haley. In New Hampshire, about two-thirds of Mr. DeSantis backers cite Mr. Trump as their second choice, said Andrew Smith, director of the University of New Hampshire Survey Center.

In a video posted on X, Mr. DeSantis endorsed Mr. Trump while delivering a parting shot at Ms. Haley. “He has my endorsement because we can’t go back to the old Republican guard of yesteryear: a re-packaged form of warmed-over corporatism that Nikki Haley represents,” Mr. DeSantis said.

At a Sunday evening rally in Rochester, New Hampshire, Mr. Trump, who spent much of last year attacking Mr. DeSantis, praised the governor and said he was looking forward to working together to defeat President Joseph R. Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee.

Mr. Trump accused Haley of forming an “unholy alliance” with liberals, never-Trumpers and RINOs, or Republicans in Name Only, to try and win the New Hampshire primary, and repeated a false claim that registered Democrats were allowed to vote in the Republican primary.

Mr. Trump holds a double-digit lead over Ms. Haley in New Hampshire, according to polls, and his campaign hopes a second consecutive win will make his eventual nomination all but inevitable.

He also has a commanding lead in South Carolina, which votes on Feb. 24. A Haley loss in her home state, where she served as governor from 2011 to 2017, would likely doom her campaign.

At a campaign event in Seabrook, New Hampshire, Ms. Haley drew cheers when she announced that DeSantis had dropped out. “For now, I’ll leave you with this: May the best woman win,” she said.

David Kochel, a Republican strategist who has worked on five presidential campaigns, said DeSantis’ exit was unlikely to change the basic contours of the campaign, given that his support had cratered. “The race needs a big dynamic shift, and I don’t feel that DeSantis dropping out is that big a deal as he didn’t have that much going on in New Hampshire, and he didn’t even have that much going on in South Carolina,” he said.

Another Republican consultant, Ford O’Connell, who has ties to both the Trump and DeSantis camps, said he expected most DeSantis voters to “come home” to Mr. Trump. “Without question, Mr. Trump is the beneficiary of DeSantis ending his campaign,” he said. With time running short, Ms. Haley has sharpened her attacks on the frontrunner in the final days before the election, blaming Mr. Trump for Republican electoral losses in 2020 and 2022 and criticizing his praise for authoritarian leaders.

ONCE A CONTENDER
Early last year, Mr. DeSantis was considered a top presidential contender and a natural heir to Mr. Trump due to his combative style and deeply conservative views. He led several head-to-head polls against Mr. Trump.

But his support had declined for several months, due to a flawed campaign strategy, his seeming lack of ease with voters on the campaign trail and Mr. Trump’s so far unshakeable command of much of the party’s base.

More than 70% of Republicans have a favorable opinion of Mr. Trump, according to most polls. That forced Mr. DeSantis to try and appeal to voters who still admired Mr. Trump, as well as those who passionately disliked him.

Mr. DeSantis failed on both counts. He never successfully articulated to most Trump supporters why he was a better option, while Republicans looking to ditch the former president split their votes among multiple candidates. While many major donors threw their support behind Mr. DeSantis early on, they began to rebel as early as the summer.

Several DeSantis allies say the governor waited too long to enter the race, which left him open to blistering attacks by Mr. Trump, who had announced his campaign more than six months earlier.

When Mr. DeSantis did formally launch his White House run in May 2023, it was a glitch-filled disaster on Twitter, now known as X, an inauspicious start for a campaign predicated on the governor’s executive competence.

The campaign overhired, burning through cash at a rapid rate, and then outsourced much of the traditional work of a campaign to an outside super PAC, which can accept donations of unlimited size but cannot coordinate with the campaign itself. — Reuters

FACTBOX: Democrats running for US president in 2024

US PRESIDENT JOSEPH R. BIDEN — WHITEHOUSE.GOV

US PRESIDENT Joseph R. Biden, who took office in early 2021, faces little opposition in his bid for the Democratic Party nomination in the 2024 presidential election.

With former President Donald Trump the frontrunner in the Republican Party’s nominating race, Mr. Biden’s strong position in the Democratic primary sets up a likely repeat of the 2020 presidential election battle.

Here are the leading candidates running to be the Democratic nominee.

JOSEPH R. BIDEN
Mr. Biden, 81, already the oldest US president ever, will have to convince voters he has the stamina for another four years in office, amid poor approval ratings. Biden allies say he believes he is the only Democratic candidate who can defeat Mr. Trump.

In announcing his candidacy, Mr. Biden declared it was his job to defend American democracy, and referred to the deadly Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol by Trump supporters. Vice President Kamala Harris is again his running mate.

The economy will factor in his reelection campaign. While the US escaped an anticipated recession and is growing faster than economists expected, inflation hit 40-year highs in 2022 and the cost of food and gas is weighing on voters.

Mr. Biden has led the response of Western governments to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, persuading allies to sanction Russia and support Kyiv, and he has been supportive of Israel in its conflict with Hamas militants in Gaza.

However, he has faced sharp criticism from some within his party for failing to back calls for a ceasefire in the Palestinian territory, where Gaza health officials say more than 25,000 people have been killed, thousands of buildings have been damaged or destroyed and residents have insufficient food, water and medical supplies.

At home, he has pushed through massive economic stimulus and infrastructure spending packages to boost US industrial output, although he has received little recognition from voters for the latter.

Mr. Biden’s handling of immigration policy has been criticized by Republicans and Democrats as migrant crossings at the US-Mexico border hit record highs during his administration.

MARIANNE WILLIAMSON
The best-selling author and self-help guru Marianne Williamson, 71, has launched her second, long-shot bid for the White House on a platform of “justice and love.”

She ran as a Democrat in the 2020 presidential primary but dropped out of the race before any votes had been cast. She launched her latest campaign on March 23 and will be on the ballot in the New Hampshire primary.

DEAN PHILLIPS
Dean Phillips, a little-known US congressman from Minnesota, announced in October he would mount a long-shot challenge to Mr. Biden because he does not believe the president can win another term.

The 55-year-old millionaire businessman and gelato company co-founder announced his bid in a one-minute video posted online, saying: “We’ve got some challenges… We’re going to repair this economy, and we are going to repair America.” — Reuters

Taiwan says it spotted 6 more Chinese balloons, one crossed island

XANDREASWORK-UNSPLASH

TAIPEI — Taiwan’s defense ministry said it had detected six more Chinese balloons flying over the Taiwan Strait on Sunday, one of which crossed the island, the latest in a spate of such balloons the ministry says it has seen in the past month-and-a-half.

The ministry earlier this month, in a strongly worded statement, accused China of threatening aviation safety and waging psychological warfare on the island’s people with the balloons, days before Taiwan’s Jan. 13 elections.

China’s defense ministry, which last month declined to comment on the balloons, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. China claims Taiwan as its own territory, despite the strong objections of the government in Taipei.

The potential for China to use balloons for spying became a global issue in February when the United States shot down what it said was a Chinese surveillance balloon. China said the balloon was a civilian craft that accidentally drifted astray.

In its daily report on Chinese military activities in the past 24 hours, the agency said six balloons had flown over the strait’s sensitive median line on Sunday.

But only one crossed Taiwan island, at its southern tip, according to a map the ministry provided.

The other five balloons flew to the north of Taiwan but did not fly over land, the ministry said. The balloons all headed east before vanishing, it added.

The Taiwan Strait’s median line previously served as an unofficial barrier between Taiwan and China, but Chinese fighter jets, drones and now balloons regularly fly over it.

China says it does not recognize the existence of the median line. — Reuters

President Sisi says Egypt will not allow any threat to Somalia or its security

CAIRO — Egypt will not allow any threat to Somalia, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said on Sunday after Ethiopia said it would consider recognizing an independence claim by Somaliland in a deal that would give it access to a seaport.

The remarks were the strongest yet made on the issue by Egypt, which already has frosty relations with Ethiopia, and were a sign that Cairo may get involved in a dispute that has raised fresh tensions in the volatile Horn of Africa.

Somaliland declared independence from Somalia in 1991 but has not won recognition from any country. The port lease deal, which was agreed earlier this month but not yet finalized, would be a boon to landlocked Ethiopia and has enraged Somalia.

“Egypt will not allow anyone to threaten Somalia or affect its security,” Sisi said, speaking at a news conference with visiting Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud.

“Do not try Egypt or try to threaten its brothers especially if they ask it to intervene,” he added.

In a Jan. 1 memorandum of understanding, Ethiopia said it would consider recognizing Somaliland’s independence in return for the port access. It would lease 20 km (12 miles) of coastland around the port of Berbera, on the Gulf of Aden, for 50 years for military and commercial purposes.

Ethiopia’s current main port for maritime exports is in the neighboring country of Djibouti.

“My message to Ethiopia is that … trying to seize a piece of land to control it is something no one will agree to,” Sisi said, saying cooperation on development was a better strategy.

Ethiopia on Sunday rejected criticism from Egypt over the deal, saying it was merely a commercial agreement aimed at securing access to the sea and not an attempt to annex land.

“It isn’t annexation or assumption of sovereignty over the territory of any state,” Redwan Hussien, national security advisor to Ethiopia said in a post on X.

Egypt’s foreign minister last week called Ethiopia a source of instability in the region, which the country’s foreign ministry said was “irrelevant”.

Relations between Egypt and Ethiopia, which share use of the Nile River, have been tense for years over a major dam Ethiopia has built on the Blue Nile. — Reuters

Expanding financial access for all: LANDBANK rolls out LANDBANKasama Program in remote areas

LANDBANK Executive Vice President Liduvino S. Geron (8th from left), alongside Mayor Fernando B. Estavilla (7th from left) and DSWD Region VII Director Shalaine Marie S. Lucero (6th from left), spearheads the launch of the LANDBANKasama Program in the Municipality of President Carlos P. Garcia in Bohol to bring banking services closer to the residents of the island town.

The Land Bank of the Philippines (LANDBANK) is ramping-up efforts towards expanding financial inclusion in the country with the nationwide rollout of the LANDBANKasama Program that will provide basic banking services in far-flung and underserved communities, also known as Geographically Isolated and Disadvantaged Areas (GIDAs).

The LANDBANKasama Program was launched as part of the state-run Bank’s Digital Financial Inclusion Caravan on Jan. 18, 2024 with simultaneous events in 11 sites nationwide in the provinces of Batanes, Tarlac, Quezon, Oriental Mindoro, Camarines Sur, Bohol, Negros Occidental, Leyte, Cagayan de Oro City, Davao del Norte, and Sulu.

LANDBANKasama Partner ZVN Store demonstrates to DSWD beneficiaries the convenience of conducting cash-in and cash-out transactions using LANDBANK’s point-of-sale terminal.

The new LANDBANKasama Partners tapped in these sites will add to the Bank’s 1,113 accredited local partners operating 1,870 cash-out terminals as of December 2023.

The LANDBANK Digital Financial Inclusion Caravan, which promotes digital banking and the habit of saving through financial education, introduced the LANDBANKasama Program and the new LANDBANK PISO Plus, among the Bank’s latest offerings.

“The LANDBANK Digital Financial Inclusion Caravan represents our steadfast commitment to fostering financial inclusion and empowering the underserved. We will continue to leverage on meaningful partnerships and digital technology to reach and serve even the farthest corners of the country,” said LANDBANK President and CEO Lynette V. Ortiz.

Expanded financial access through LANDBANKasama Program

To ensure financial access even in the most remote and underserved areas, LANDBANK is expanding its strategic partnerships with local players—client cooperatives, associations, rural banks, local government units (LGUs), micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), and private entities, among others—to provide basic banking services on behalf of the Bank.

LANDBANKasama is a rebrand of the Bank’s Agent Banking Program (ABP), which better captures the goals of the Program in creating strategic points of banking access and promoting collaboration among local players towards expanding financial inclusion.

LANDBANKasama Partners provide services such as cash withdrawals, cash deposit, fund transfers, bills payment, and balance inquiry, while helping to save on transportation costs for clients who previously needed to travel to other towns and cities for these basic banking transactions.

The program benefits beneficiaries of the Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) Program of the National Government, as well as government employees, teachers, students, and other private clients from underserved communities.

Banking and saving made easier with PISO Plus

To encourage more Filipinos into the habit of saving, the Bank also launched its newest product, the LANDBANK PISO Plus, which is a basic deposit account that interested customers can conveniently open online through the LANDBANK Mobile Banking App (MBA).

With no initial deposit and no maintaining balance required, opening a LANDBANK PISO Plus account provides customers instant access to the Bank’s other digital banking services. These include fund transfers, bills payment, e-commerce transactions, and cardless withdrawals through the LANDBANK MBA.

There is also no required average daily balance for the account to earn interest. Alongside a virtual Visa Debit Card, customers can opt to obtain a physical card for a nominal fee.

 

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South Korea to make financial markets more attractive, regulator says

REUTERS

SEOUL — South Korea will take steps to make its financial markets more investor friendly and attractive to foreigners, the financial regulator said on Monday.

The comments by vice chairman of the Financial Services Commission (FSC), Kim So-young, came at a meeting with foreign financial firms in Seoul to discuss ways of helping them expand business, in the wake of November’s ban on short-selling.

“The government will make various efforts to globalize the financial industry, especially to build a more favorable environment for foreign financial firms,” Kim said.

“In a broad framework, we will continue efforts to improve the attractiveness of the Korean market to foreign investors.”

Officials of 10 foreign firms, such as HSBC, JP Morgan, and Societe Generale attended the meeting, the FSC said.

Among the regulatory reforms South Korea adopted last year to boost foreign access to its financial markets was the scrapping of a 30-year-old rule that foreigners must register with authorities in order to trade listed stocks.

In November, however, it imposed a sudden temporary ban on stock short-selling through the first half of 2024, after authorities uncovered some illegal trades by foreign firms.

The step drew criticism that it would hinder foreign access and undermine market efficiency. — Reuters

Japan seen missing primary budget surplus target in FY2025

REUTERS

TOKYO — Japan’s primary budget balance is expected to remain in the red in the fiscal year 2025/26 when policymakers had hoped to achieve a surplus, the Cabinet Office estimates showed, highlighting the stiff costs of servicing a record public debt.

The primary balance – a key measure of how much Japan’s national and local governments finance policy measures without relying on debt – was estimated at a deficit of 1.1 trillion yen ($7.44 billion), versus the previous forecast of 1.3 trillion yen shortfall seen in July.

Saddled with the industrial world’s worst public debt at more than double the size of its economy, Japan has been focused on improving its primary budget but debt servicing costs and COVID-related expenses have hampered its efforts.

The government has targeted bringing its primary budget balance, which excludes new bond sales and debt servicing costs, into the black by fiscal year ending March 2026.

Japan’s primary budget has largely been in deficit in the postwar era with the exception of the asset bubble period between 1986 and 1991.

Having pushed back the goal post several times, the Cabinet Office forecasts show Japan is yet again unlikely to balance the primary budget by the target year, a view shared widely with private-sector economists.

The latest estimate reflected higher than expected nominal GDP growth as well as streamlining spending, both of which contributed to improving the budget balance slightly, while higher inflation and stimulus spending rolled out late last year boosted expenditure.

The estimates assumed Japan’s economy achieves real GDP growth of 1.3% – a level seen during fiscal years 1980 through to 1990 on average, with consumer prices at 2.0% and the nominal long-term interest rates at 0.9%.Japan’s growth has hovered below 1% in the past decade.

On the flip side, assuming the current growth rate and inflation trajectory, the primary balance could deteriorate into a 2.6 trillion yen deficit, the Cabinet Office estimates showed. — Reuters

NREA sets program to boost PHL realty sector

NREA STRATEGIC PLANNING SESSION AND FIRST BOARD MEETING: (Seated from left) Executive Vice-President Ma. Loren B. Sales; President Red J. Rosales; Board Chairlady Imelda C. Magtoto and Board Vice-Chair Ruth Marie C. Atienza. (Standing from extreme left) Trustee and Education Chairman Rodolfo D. Leonen; Treasurer Nicole Lim Choa; Vice-President for Chapter Affairs Zenaida S Fruto; PRO Christian Q. Mulingbayan; Vice-President for External Affairs Ador Z. Tolentino, Jr.; Vice-President for Internal Affairs Jovi Francis W. Tupaz; Member Lemuel B. Branal; Secretary General Lourdes Bernadette B. Carlos and NREA Metro Rizal Chapter President Cheryl Sanguyo.

Envisioning a robust and vibrant real estate sector in 2024, the National Real Estate Association (NREA) is primed to launch a comprehensive set of initiatives to stimulate activity within the industry. Such was the objective laid out by Red J. Rosales, NREA’s new national president, following the association’s recent Strategic Planning Session and Board Meeting held at the Makati Sports Club on Jan. 10, 2024.

Consultant Imelda C. Magtoto, NREA Chairperson, disclosed that the NREA’s upcoming year-round activities are expected to empower members and real estate practitioners in their quest to boost the country’s Pambansang Pabahay Para sa Pilipino Program, which aims to see every Filipino have a home to call their own.

All these projects will run under the overarching 2024 theme: “NREA Realizing the Dream of a Thriving Real Estate Industry”.

The following committees were formed to implement NREA’s programs and projects this year: (1) Network Expansion, headed by VP-Chapters Zenaida Fruto; (2) Revenue Generation, led by Treasurer Nicole Lim Choa; (3) Engagements, led by VP-Internal Jovi Francis Tupaz along with Vice Chair Trustee Alma Grace Sarra; (4) Education, led by Trustee and Education Chairman Rodolfo Leonen; (5) Advocacy, led by VP-External Lawyer Ador Z. Tolentino, Jr.; and (6) Public Relations, headed by PRO Christian Mulingbayan along with Vice Chair Christopher Cahilig.

Red J. Rosales, NREA’s new national president

President Rosales also announced his five-point plan for the NREA:

First, the enhancement of member engagements and benefits. The NREA hopes to develop a comprehensive engagement strategy that will drive members to participate in organization activities and decision-making processes. Part of these will be the establishment of a mentorship program and the creation of exclusive perks and benefits for NREA members.

Second, the promotion of industry research and thought leadership. The organization is set to establish an NREA Research Center to spearhead research initiatives, analyze and study industry data, and generate actionable recommendations for the sector’s growth and development.

Third, the expansion of global partnerships and market access by establishing an international presence for NREA through overseas offices and representatives that can provide localized support and services to Filipino real estate professionals operating abroad.

Fourth, the acceptance of social responsibility and sustainability. A NREA Sustainability Task Force will be mounted to develop and implement sustainable practices within the organization and encourage members to adopt environmentally conscious real estate strategies.

Lastly, the empowerment of the next generation of real estate leaders. A NREA Youth Council will be created to provide a platform for young members to engage with the organization, share their perspectives, and contribute to NREA’s growth and innovation.

Indeed, the year 2024 is looking bright for the NREA. They hope to build on their reputation and goodwill within the industry and continue working with the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development as a longtime partner and collaborator. With their focus turned to these objectives, President Red J. Rosales is confident that the NREA will affirm its status as the “One-Stop Trade Organization”.

 

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Israel’s Netanyahu rejects Hamas conditions for hostage deal which include ‘outright surrender’

COLE KEISTER-UNSPLASH

JERUSALEM — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday rejected conditions presented by Hamas to end the war and release hostages that would include Israel’s complete withdrawal and leaving Hamas in power in Gaza.

“In exchange for the release of our hostages, Hamas demands the end of the war, the withdrawal of our forces from Gaza, the release of all the murderers and rapists,” Mr. Netanyahu said in a statement. “And leaving Hamas intact.”

“I reject outright the terms of surrender of the monsters of Hamas,” Mr. Netanyahu said.

A deal brokered in late November by the United States, Qatar and Egypt saw the release of more than 100 of the estimated 240 hostages who were taken captive to Gaza during an attack by Hamas militants on Oct. 7, in exchange for the release of 240 Palestinians held in Israeli prisons.

Since that deal ended Mr. Netanyahu has faced mounting pressure to secure the release the 136 hostages who remain in captivity.

Mr. Netanyahu also took a stronger line on the issue of Palestinian statehood than previously.

“I will not compromise on full Israeli security control of all territory west of the Jordan River,” he said.

US President Joe Biden on Friday said he spoke with Mr. Netanyahu about possible solutions for creation of an independent Palestinian state, suggesting one path could involve a non-militarized government.

Mr. Netanyahu appeared on Saturday to push back against Mr. Biden’s remarks about Palestinian statehood after the war against Hamas in Gaza ends as the two men do not see eye-to-eye on Palestinians having a state, a solution Mr. Biden has advocated to achieve long-term peace.

In the statement on Sunday, Mr. Netanyahu repeated that he would insist upon “full Israeli security control over all the territory west of Jordan.”

Mr. Netanyahu said that he faced down “international and internal pressures,” to change this position.

“My insistence is what prevented for years the establishment of a Palestinian state that would have posed an existential danger to Israel,” Netanyahu said. — Reuters

Taiwan says it spots six more Chinese balloons, one crossed island

A globe is seen in front of Chinese and Taiwanese flags in this illustration, Aug. 6, 2022. — REUTERS/DADO RUVIC/ILLUSTRATION

TAIPEI — Taiwan’s defense ministry said it had detected six more Chinese balloons flying over the Taiwan Strait on Sunday, one of which crossed the island, the latest in a spate of such balloons the ministry says it has seen over the past month-and-a-half.

The ministry earlier this month, in a strongly worded statement, accused China of threatening aviation safety and waging psychological warfare on the island’s people with the balloons, days before Taiwan’s Jan. 13 elections.

China’s defense ministry, which last month declined to comment on the balloons, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. China claims Taiwan as its own territory, despite the strong objections of the government in Taipei.

The potential for China to use balloons for spying became a global issue last February when the United States shot down what it said was a Chinese surveillance balloon. China said the balloon was a civilian craft that accidentally drifted astray.

In the latest incident, revealed by the ministry on Monday in its daily report on Chinese military activities over the past 24 hours, it said six balloons had flown over the strait’s sensitive median line on Sunday.

However, only one crossed Taiwan island, at its southern tip, according to a map the ministry provided.

The other five balloons flew to the north of Taiwan but did not fly over land, the ministry said.

The balloons all headed east before vanishing, it added.

The Taiwan Strait’s median line previously served as an unofficial barrier between Taiwan and China, but Chinese fighter jets, drones and now balloons regularly fly over it.

China says it does not recognize the existence of the median line. — Reuters

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